Truss assembly set,especially for bracing concrete forms



g- 1970 E. M. HUNNEBECK ETAL 3,525,1M

TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS 6 3 FIG.3 L 4,

U0 JUUUUUHUUUU U U Aug. 25, 1970 HUNNEBECK ETAL 3,525,191

TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Filed March 8, 1968 v 6 Sheats-Sheet 2 "11 if 1: i -3- ETC: WM M, W

Aug. 25, 1970 E HUNNEBECK ETl'AL 3,525,191

TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Filed March 8, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 7

w B 7 O N N Aug. 25, 1970 HUNNEBEK ETAL 3,525,191

TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Filed March a, 1968 e Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 6

TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Filed March 8, 1968 E. M. HUNNEBECK ETAL Aug. 25, 1970 6 Shoots-Sheet 5 FIG. 9

IHIHI Hmm Aug. 25, 1970 E. M. HUNNEBECK ETA!- TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Filed March 8, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent F 3,525,191 TRUSS ASSEMBLY SET, ESPECIALLY FOR BRACING CONCRETE FORMS Emil Mauritz Hunnebeck, deceased, late of Tyrol, Austria, by Hans-Joachim Hunnebeck, Hummelsbeek 27, and Heidi von Vopelius, Hummelsbeek 4, both of 4032 Lintorf, Germany, heirs Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 712,339 Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 9, 1967, H 62,081; Aug. 21, 1967, H 59,955 Int. Cl. E04c 2/42, 3/32; E04h 12/10 US. Cl. 52-645 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An assembly set especially for building concrete forms comprising trusses of different heights and a boxlikc shape wherein the trusses of one size may be inserted transversely through apertures in trusses of the next larger size and be secured to the latter.

The prevent invention relates to an assembly set of trusses or the like of different heights or widths which are especially adapted for bracing concrete forms and wherein the trusses of one height may be inserted transversely through those of another height and 'be secured to the latter.

The known assembly sets of trusses of this kind consisted of lattice trusses of a kind known as such which by means of other trusses which were inserted into them and were secured thereto formed telescopic form supports. They further consisted of reinforcing beams which extended through the lattice trusses and were clamped thereto. Since the lattice trusses for producing such telescopic form supports were provided with clamping means on their lower chords for holding the trusses which were inserted therein in a fixed position relative to the upper chords of the lattice trusses, the reinforcing beams extending through the lattice trusses of the known assembly sets could be applied only in such cases in which the lattice trusses were provided with clamping means. This requirement limited the utility of such assembly sets considerably.

Furthermore, the trusses which were to be inserted transversely into the lattice trusses only had a solidifying effect sufiicient to render a form element of a large surface area transportable. These trusses could not be employed for bracing the form element and for taking up the concrete pressure. Consequently, they could not be regarded as trusses in the proper sense of the word, but only as reinforcing elements.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the known types of assembly sets by providing such a set with trusses which are designed so as to permit other trusses to be inserted transversely through the first trusses at practically any desired point of the latter and then to be secured to the latter. Since according to the invention the inserted trusses have a high bearing capacity, they may also serve for taking up the concrete pressure which is exerted upon the form walls by bracing the latter additionally against the inserted trusses by the insertion of liners or of a third truss. Another object of the invention is to design the trusses so as to permit the necessary anchoring means such as tie rods to be passed through the trusses at practically any desired point. The trusses should further be designed so that it is immaterial which of their chords are applied against the walls of the concrete form.

For attaining these objects, the present invention provides that each truss of the assembly set is made of a 3,525,191 Patented Aug. 25, 1970 boxlike shape and that all lateral surfaces of each truss are provided with apertures. Those apertures which are provided in two parallel side walls of trusses are then designed for receiving the insertable trusses, while the apertures in the other parallel side walls are intended for the insertion of anchoring means. Consequently, all trusses which may be passed transversely through other trusses should also comply with these requirements.

In a usual case it will be sufiicient to provide the assembly set with only two groups of trusses of different sizes, although for special cases it may be desirable to have three groups of different sizes available. Each of the trusses of a larger size then permits the trusses of the next smaller size to be transversely inserted therethrough and to be secured thereto at practically any place thereof and it also permits necessary anchoring means to be passed at any desired place through the trusses. It is then immaterial which chords abut against the form wall or the like.

For rigidly connecting the trusses of a certain size to each other, it is therefore now possible to employ more than two trusses of the next smaller size, and the framework which is thus produced may, if desired, be further reinforced by trusses of a still smaller size. Since it comprises trusses of several different heights which may be assembled with each other in various positions, the assembly set according to the invention may be employed very universally.

The insertable trusses should preferably be secured in a fixed position relative to the two lateral walls of the other trusses through which they are not passed, and one of the lateral walls of the insertable trusses should be capable of being applied directly upon the corresponding lateral surfaces of the other trusses. For securing the two kinds of trusses to each other, the present invention provides suitable clamping means which press the truss which is inserted through apertures of the other truss against one of the parallel side walls of the latter and are braced on the other side wall. Depending upon the particular shape of the associated trusses, it is, however, also possible according to the invention to provide a clamping device which operates by the exertion of a traction so as to press the two adjacent lateral surfaces of two trusses of different sizes against each other.

Although it is very desirable to design the trusses so as to permit a truss of a smaller size to be inserted transversely through one of a larger size at any desired point thereof and then to be secured thereto, it is in most cases sufiicient to provide in each of two parallel side walls of one truss at least three apertures through each of which a truss of a smaller size may be inserted.

Another feature of the invention consists in designing each truss so as to have either two or four equal chords which are connected to each other so as to form a rigid unit by means of suitable connecting elements such as sheet-metal strips, rods, bars or the like which are spaced from each other. It is further advisable to make all chords of the same truss of the same cross sectional size and shape since it is then immaterial which of the chords may be applied, for example, against a wall of a concrete form.

The ends of the connecting elements are preferably recessed so that at these points the anchoring means, for example, tie rods, do not have to be inserted through apertures but may simply be layed into the recesses, for example, from above. This facilitates the assembly considerably at the building site. Since the lower ends of the connecting elements are preferably likewise recessed, there is no need to remove the lowest tie rods when the form walls are to be removed since the trusses are open and can therefore be withdrawn upwardly from the tie rods. This is very important when constructing normal house walls since the tie rods then only need to be applied at the very upper and lower ends of the vertical trusses.

Since it is desirable especially for transport reasons not to make the trusses too long, the lateral surfaces of all trusses through which other trusses may be transversely inserted should be provided with apertures for receiving suitable elements for connecting these trusses to equal trusses extending in the same direction so that the ends of several equal trusses will then abut against each other and be firmly secured to each other.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which- FIG. 1 shows a side view of a truss according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the truss according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 ShOWs a side view of a truss which may be inserted through either of the larger apertures of the truss according to FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the truss according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a form wall which is composed of a plurality of form boards and is supported by trusses which are designed and assembled according to the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a top view of a concrete wall encased in a form which is supported by trusses according to FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the elements according to FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 shows a horizontal cross section of the corner of a building which is encased in a form which is supported by trusses and connecting elements according to a modification of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows a cross section which is taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows a cross section of a truss with two equal chords;

FIG. 11 shows a side view of the truss according to FIG. 10; while FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of one of the chords of the truss according to FIGS. 10 and 11.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show one of the supporting trusses according to the invention which is of a substantially boxlike shape and comprises parallel side wall 1 which determine height or width of the truss and are provided with apertures 2 of such a size so as to permit narrower supporting trusses of the similar shape with parallel side walls 3 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to be inserted and then be locked to the wider trusses by suitable clamping means so as to form a framelike structure. The side walls 1 and 3 of each of the two types of trusses are rigidly secured to each other by connecting members 4 or 5, respectively. One or both types of trussses may be addi tionally provided with reinforcing struts, not shown. If desired or necessary, still narrower trusses may be inserted through the apertures 6 of the trusses according to FIGS. 3 and 4 and be secured to the latter.

FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate supporting trusses 7 and 8 which differ slightly in shape from the trusses according to FIGS. 1 to 4 but are to be similarly connected to each other so as to form a supporting frame. Although the parallel trusses 7 of each frame may be connected and secured to each other by any desired number of trusses 8, only two of these connecting trusses 8 are shown. For clamping the trusses together at their points of intersection, clamping means 9 are provided which press the adjacent lateral surfaces of the intersecting trusses against each other by traction by means of wedges 9'. For securing the clamping means 9 in fixed positions to the chords 10 of the trusses 7, the connecting members 11 which connect the chords 10 or the side walls of the trusses 7 to each other are provided with slots 12. The apertures in the side walls 14 of the trusses 7 through which the trusses 8 are inserted are indicated at 13. The shape of the trusses 8 differs slightly from that of the trusses 7 insofar as the trusses 8 are in the form of lattice trusses. These trusses 8 may also be designed so that smaller trusses may be inserted through the apertures 15 in their side walls 16 and be locked thereto. This is, however, not shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 as it would not be necessary in this particular framework. The form walls which are braced by the trusses 7 and 8 are each composed of a plurality of form boards 17. The two sets of trusses 7 and 8 at the opposite sides of the concrete form are clamped to each other by tie rods 18 which are inserted through openings in the two other parallel side walls which in the particular embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 5 are provided in the upper and lower ends of the trusses 7. For positively connecting several trusses 7 to each other which extend in the same direction, the ends of trusses 7 are provided with openings 19. FIGS. 5 and 7 also illustrate that all lateral surfaces of the two kinds of trusses are provided with apertures in accordance with the invention and that all chords of the trusses of each kind have the same cross-sectional shape.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate trusses according to a modification of the invention which are employed to brace the concrete form of a corner of a building. In the vertical direction, there are trusses 20 with four chords 21 which are combined with each other by connecting members 22 and 23 so as to form a rigid unit. Between the connecting members 22 there are apertures 24 and between the connecting members 23 there are apertures 25. Through the apertures 24 tie rods or the like may be inserted, while through the apertures 25 trusses 26 may be inserted and secured by clamping means 9 such as shown in FIG. 6. The connecting members 23 of trusses 20 and the connecting members 28 of trusses 26 are made of a shape so as to increase the rigidity of the framework, The connecting members 28 of trusses 26 are also spaced from each other so that also in this case all lateral surfaces of both kinds of trusses are provided with apertures through which other parts may be inserted.

The particular cross-sectional shape of the individual trusses is of secondary importance. If two chords are separated by a space, this space may be filled out by a wooden bar 30, as indicated at several points in FIG. 8, which increases the contact surface of the trusses 20 on the form boards 31. Of course, if the set of components consisting of the trusses which are operatively connected to each other is applied upon form boards, it may be provided with additional elements, as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9 without being identified by numerals.

The corner angle 31 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is because of its simplicity especially suitable for supporting and connecting the trusses at an angle to each other. Although the trusses of the known types had equal chords, they were arranged symmetrically above each other only relative to the Y axis of the truss which extends in the vertical direction. Therefore, the distance between the connecting webs of the two chords was exactly as large as the distance between the ends of the flanges of the two chords. In other words, the recesses which were formed by the two flanges and the connecting web of each pair of chords were open toward the same side. It was therefore possible to insert a square wooden bar into the outwardly open recess of one chord and to secure it relative to the connecting web of this chord so that one or more boards, for example, those of form walls, could be connected by nails to the lattice truss. If such lattice trusses are employed for producing concrete forms, the chords of each lattice truss extend vertically, and for taking up the anchoring forces it is necessary to provide the upper and lower parts of the chords which are averted from the form wall with special chords for taking up the anchoring forces.

In 'order to permit such trusses to be employed in the manner according to the invention so that other trusses or tie rods may extend through them, the chords which are of an equal length and cross-sectional shape are arranged symmetrically to both static axes, that is, to the Y-axis as well as to the X-axis of the lattice truss so that the distance between the webs of the U-profiles of both chords will be smaller than the distance between the ends of the flanges of the two chords. Furthermore, the webs of the chords are provided with longitudinal apertures or slots. The trusses which are made of such a shape are very rigid and may be easily connected to equal or or other kinds of trusses by hammer-head bolts. The slots which are provided then serve for the insertion of anchoring means such as tie rods at almost any desired place of two opposite form walls. The truss 32 consists of two equal chords 33 and 34 of a substantially U-shaped cross section. The central web of each of these two chords 33 and 34 is provided with longitudinal apertures or slots 36. The apertures or slots 36 which are adjacent to the end surfaces 37 are open toward these ends. The flanges 38 and 39 which are integral with the web 35 of each chord 33 and 34 are bent over twice toward the outside so that transverse flanges 40 and 41 and outer U-shaped channels 42 and 43 are formed which reinforce each chord. The outer surfaces of flanges 38 and 39 of both chords 33 and 34 are secured to each other by zigzag or serpentine-shaped rods 44 and 45 which are welded thereon in equal positions so that it is immaterial which of the two chords 33 and 34 is located immediately opposite to a form wall.

If such a truss is to be positively connected to another of the same kind or to one of a different shape after one of them has been inserted through the other, it is merely necessary to insert hammer-head bolts through the longitudinal apertures or slots in the chords of the two trusses and to clamp them together, for example, by means of wedges which are braced on the hammer-head bolts.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the chords are disposed symmetrically to the Y-axis, as indicated by the dot-and-dash line 46, as well as to the X-axis, as indicated by the dotted line 47.

Although the invention has been described with reference to some preferred embodiments thereof, it is obvious that the individual trusses may also have shapes diflerent from those as illustrated. The same applies to the clamping and securing means and the like.

The invention may also be applied to trusses of a different construction. Thus, for example, it makes no difference whether the trusses as seen in a side view form lattice trusses, diamond-shaped trusses, or framelike trusses.

The individual trusses belonging to one set according to the invention may be employed either singly or combined for bracing large-surface concrete forms. Each truss may, however, also be employed individually for properly supporting a vertical or horizontal form wall.

Although this invention has been illustrated and de scribed with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof we wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but is capable of numerous modifications as would be obvious to one with normal skill in the pertinent technology.

Having thus fully disclosed this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A gridlike structure for providing lateral support for concrete forms or the like and capable of being readily disassembled Without damaging any of the component parts, said structure comprising:

at least two first girder means disposed in spaced parallel relationship,

at least one second girder means disposed in generally right angular relationship to said first girder means, extending therebetween and being connected thereto by releasable securing means,

each of said girder means including a pair of webs disposed in spaced parallel relationship, said webs having spaced openings-therein, the openings in one of said webs being aligned with the openings in the other web, spacer means extending between said webs inwardly of both of the longitudinal edges thereof, apertures spaced along said spacer means, the apertures adjacent one longitudinal edge being aligned with the apertures along the other longitudinal edge, the longitudinal edges of each of said Webs comprising chord members, said chord members and said spacer portions thereby defining two oppositely-facing grooves receiving and supporting a beam member therein, along opposite sides of said first girder means,

said second girder means being constructed similarly to said first girder means and having Webs of smaller width, said second girder means passing through said aligned apertures in said Webs of said first girder means.

2. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said releasable securing means includes clamping means wedged between an outer surface of said second girder means and an inner surface of an aperture in said webs of said first girder means at a point where said second girder means is inserted within said aligned apertures in said first girder means.

3. A structure according to claim 1, further comprising connecting means for interconnecting a pair of said first girder means extending in a parallel direction, said connecting means being inserted through apertures formed at the ends of said first girder means.

4. A structure according to claim 1, further comprising at least a third one of said first girder means and angular members interconnecting said third one of said first girder means with one of said at least two first girder means, in an angular relationship, thus forming a form-bracing corner.

5. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said webs are constructed in the form of substantially zigzag-shaped rods extending diagonally between said chord members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 537,897 4/1895 Manly 52665 849,908 4/ 1907 Mansfield 52655 1,911,018 5/1933 Goeltz 52694 1,920,831 8/ 1933 Zabriskie 52650 1,963,395 6/1934 Zabriskie 52650 1,986,172 1/1935 Wilson 52650 2,008,907 7/ 1935 Green 52669 2,664,178 12/1953 Whipple 526 5 2,978,076 4/ 1961 Schneller 52650 3,327,987 6/1967 Muller 52665 1,871,041 8/1932 Cavanagh 182 -178 481,915 8/ 1892 Norrman 52667 2,284,898 6/ 1942 Hartman 52650 2,906,380 9/1959 Sanders 52633 3,336,718 8/1967 Cape 52650 3,394,525 7/1968 McKee et al. 52-726 FOREIGN PATENTS 565,502 1958 Canada.

240,060 7/ 1962 Australia.

553,010 12/1956 Belgium.

369,780 3/1939 Italy.

566,454 9/ 1957 Italy.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 52667, 694, 731 

